Trading Nut | Trader Interviews - Forex, Futures, Stocks

Dave Mabe, systematic trading coach and former CTO of Trade Ideas, shares how he transitioned from discretionary trading to running 25 automated strategies, and the single biggest backtesting mistake most traders make.

Full episode + show notes:
https://tradingnut.com/dave-mabe/

Key moments
- [05:44] Having a full-time job and trading on the side forces you to focus on a small window, preventing you from strategy-hopping.
- [11:53] Discretionary traders can look at situations and figure out when to 'swing the bat hard,' but it is a very difficult skill to master.
- [14:30] My very first backtest of my discretionary strategy actually performed better than my manual execution.
- [18:12] The only thing harder than coming up with your first profitable trading strategy is coming up with your second.
- [19:08] The biggest mistake in backtesting is trying to shoot for the final version of a strategy on your very first run.
- [20:01] Your first backtest should have no filtering; instead, add custom columns for every indicator and optimize using that dataset.
- [27:44] Scale wide by adding more automated trades across smaller timeframes, rather than just increasing your position size.
- [30:54] A good backtesting software must be able to scan the entire US equities market and allow custom columns.
- [39:42] When using Claude to write backtest code, give it a specific chart setup where a trade should occur to let it self-verify.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJIx4aNF49o

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More from Trading Nut

Strategy Vault - Free guest setups organised by method.
https://tradingnut.com/go/vault/

TraderZen - Trade control unlocked. Finally stick to your plan while you trade.
https://tradingnut.com/go/traderzen/

Dynamic Traders Club - Free 7-minute rule strategy — mechanical intraday setup.
https://tradingnut.com/go/dtc/

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Educational only - not financial advice. Risk: https://tradingnut.com/disclaimers/
Some links are affiliate partnerships.

Vinnie Strothers shares his journey from running a moving company to full-time trading, detailing how he turned a $200 account into $50,000 in just 45 days using a rules-based trend strategy.

Full episode + show notes:
https://tradingnut.com/vinnie-strothers/

Key moments
- [03:04] Align the daily and four-hour timeframes to establish a higher probability directional bias.
- [11:14] Your primary objective as a trend trader must be to catch the impulse move, not the correction.
- [13:09] Keep your day job when starting out, trade small, and don't be afraid to take consistent profits.
- [14:23] Move your stop loss above break-even immediately once the trade is in profit to protect your mindset and capital.
- [16:11] Split standard lot sizes into four smaller positions to secure partials and compound your account effectively.
- [19:39] Stop trading naked charts; utilize indicators correctly to remove emotional decision-making from your execution.
- [22:44] Master higher timeframe direction using a Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the four-hour chart.
- [25:12] Focus on mastering a single strategy that resonates with you rather than trying to combine conflicting systems.
- [32:09] Avoid trading on the one-minute timeframe if you are a beginner; zoom out to see the bigger picture.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0amJ2EnC7g

---
Sponsors

BlackBull Markets - 100% deposit bonus & free TradingView. NZ-regulated broker.
https://tradingnut.com/go/blackbull/

FTMO - Buy a challenge and we’ll help you pass it.
https://tradingnut.com/go/ftmo/

---
More from Trading Nut

Strategy Vault - Free guest setups organised by method.
https://tradingnut.com/go/vault/

TraderZen - Trade control unlocked. Finally stick to your plan while you trade.
https://tradingnut.com/go/traderzen/

Dynamic Traders Club - Free 7-minute rule strategy — mechanical intraday setup.
https://tradingnut.com/go/dtc/

---
Educational only - not financial advice. Risk: https://tradingnut.com/disclaimers/
Some links are affiliate partnerships.

Hans Felix shares his 11-year trading journey, how he made $109,000 on a single FOMC day, and his mechanical 'Hold Time Psychology' strategy for US30 and Gold.

Full episode + show notes:
https://tradingnut.com/sir-hans-felix/

Key moments
- [03:54] This is basically freedom at the expense of knowledge that is uncapped.
- [06:52] You become the liquidity until you find out... why is it that I see a sell and it turns into a buy?
- [10:11] One of the biggest weak points that I had... is how to walk away sooner from a loss.
- [12:11] Information overload happens when you try to learn everything instead of finding a simplified system that works for you.
- [15:11] My favorite go-to setup is the previous session sweep, one-minute or five-minute break and retest.
- [23:32] If your exit is not as tight as your entry, you might not make a dollar.
- [28:28] As soon as I saw a hundred and nine thousand, I closed everything. Five minutes after, the market retraced all the way back.
- [32:20] If you've bought at least ten to twenty prop firm accounts... you could have just kept on depositing that money into a live account.
- [36:42] I pay myself about twenty percent of my gains so that even if I mess up, I still did my part in paying myself.
- [43:50] I use a method called hold time psychology... knowing how long the setup usually plays for keeps you from micromanaging.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ge4u-D5DY

---
Sponsors

BlackBull Markets - 100% deposit bonus & free TradingView. NZ-regulated broker.
https://tradingnut.com/go/blackbull/

FTMO - Buy a challenge and we’ll help you pass it.
https://tradingnut.com/go/ftmo/

---
More from Trading Nut

Strategy Vault - Free guest setups organised by method.
https://tradingnut.com/go/vault/

TraderZen - Trade control unlocked. Finally stick to your plan while you trade.
https://tradingnut.com/go/traderzen/

Dynamic Traders Club - Free 7-minute rule strategy — mechanical intraday setup.
https://tradingnut.com/go/dtc/

---
Educational only - not financial advice. Risk: https://tradingnut.com/disclaimers/
Some links are affiliate partnerships.

Cam, JJ, and Vatsal break down why emotional trading is actually a symptom of poor preparation, improper risk sizing, and lack of execution rather than a broken mindset.

Full episode + show notes:
https://tradingnut.com/33/

Key moments
- Emotions are feedback, not your enemy. Trying to eliminate them is impossible; instead, understand what they are telling you about your process [01:49].
- Confidence comes from preparation, not positive thinking. Backtesting and repetition build the muscle memory needed to reduce uncertainty [04:36].
- Risk is often the real psychological problem. If every candle feels threatening, your position size is likely too large [06:47].
- Genuine confidence is earned through evidence and keeping promises to yourself, not motivation [10:37].
- Stop labeling yourself as having a psychological issue. Get to the root cause of your emotions, which is often a fear of stepping out of your comfort zone [15:02].
- Placing a stop loss is not the same as mentally accepting the risk. You must be truly willing to lose that money to trade without emotional suffering [20:38].
- Reading psychology books improves awareness, but awareness alone does not change behavior. Real improvement requires live practice and disciplined execution [23:36].
- Journaling is a must for any serious trader. It acts as a historical record of your growth and highlights your structural strengths and weaknesses [30:18].

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ftvUL1WrM

---
Sponsors

BlackBull Markets - 100% deposit bonus & free TradingView. NZ-regulated broker.
https://tradingnut.com/go/blackbull/

FTMO - Buy a challenge and we’ll help you pass it.
https://tradingnut.com/go/ftmo/

---
More from Trading Nut

Strategy Vault - Free guest setups organised by method.
https://tradingnut.com/go/vault/

TraderZen - Trade control unlocked. Finally stick to your plan while you trade.
https://tradingnut.com/go/traderzen/

Dynamic Traders Club - Free 7-minute rule strategy — mechanical intraday setup.
https://tradingnut.com/go/dtc/

---
Educational only - not financial advice. Risk: https://tradingnut.com/disclaimers/
Some links are affiliate partnerships.

Daniel Holmes shares his aggressive 2-day prop firm passing strategy, how he risks the entire account on trade one, and his 15-minute Gold breakout setup.

Full episode + show notes:
https://tradingnut.com/daniel-holmes/

Key moments
- [01:50] At 29, depressed and broke, I literally typed 'top earning jobs in the world' into Google and found trading.
- [07:13] Adding indicators like EMAs and Bollinger Bands threw away two years of my progress.
- [09:34] Longevity in the game is key; if you show up with intent to do better than yesterday, you will improve.
- [10:53] With prop trading, blowing accounts is just part of the cycle to get to the payouts.
- [12:30] Experience is the only thing that actually forces you to stick to your trading rules.
- [16:19] If what you anticipated to happen doesn't happen, you are wrong—start managing the trade immediately.
- [18:11] Expect the worst on every trade. The market owes you nothing.
- [25:53] Prop firm trading is a cycle of blowing accounts, getting funded, getting a payout, and repeating.
- [28:28] On a 50K Topstep challenge, I will risk the entire account on the first trade to make 50% in one day.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tES44PnKtws

---
Sponsors

BlackBull Markets - 100% deposit bonus & free TradingView. NZ-regulated broker.
https://tradingnut.com/go/blackbull/

FTMO - Buy a challenge and we’ll help you pass it.
https://tradingnut.com/go/ftmo/

---
More from Trading Nut

Strategy Vault - Free guest setups organised by method.
https://tradingnut.com/go/vault/

TraderZen - Trade control unlocked. Finally stick to your plan while you trade.
https://tradingnut.com/go/traderzen/

Dynamic Traders Club - Free 7-minute rule strategy — mechanical intraday setup.
https://tradingnut.com/go/dtc/

---
Educational only - not financial advice. Risk: https://tradingnut.com/disclaimers/
Some links are affiliate partnerships.